Machine for classing bed feathers



April 14, 1931.

H. BAUER MACHINE FOR CLASSING BED FEATHERS Filed Feb. 15, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 14, 1931. H. BAUER 1,800,493 v CHINE FOR CLASSING BED FEATHERS Filed Feb. 15, 192s s sheets-sheet 2 April 14,1931. H, BAUER HACHINE FOR GLASSINGBEDFEATHERS Filed Feb. 15, 1928 3 Sheets-Shea*I 3 Patented Apr. 14, 1931 i f Um-ED HERMANN BAUER, or STTTGART, GERMANY MACHINE For. -cLAs'sINe BED-*FEATHERS .Application filed rebruary 15, 1928, seri'ai No'. 254,372, and 'in Germany February 21, 1927.

lMy invention relates to machines .for class-` L ing bed feathers in flowing air and it is an object of my invention to` provide amore ,I versatile machine of this hindthan hasheren .ofore been designed.

To this end, I provide means for adapting the How of air in each unit of the machine to the particular class of feathers that-iste be` treated, and I further provide means for* varying the number of units in a machine.

It is another object of my invention to eliminate .handling of the feathers and to provide .an automatic machine.

Existing 'classing machinescan be adapted to various mixtures of feathers anddrinds of feathers only fwith diiiiculty or notat all..

ln particular, it was not possible to adapt each unit separately to a given l'rind of feathers, and the number of units `was invaluable.

According to my invention, the 'flow is regulated independently in each chamber'cr unit, and the number of unitsV maybe .re-A duced or increased as desired so that -a mixture of various classes .of feathers is divided into .ay definite number of distinct classes or mixtures. This is particularly important because'the mixtures of feathers as bought are altogetherdiiferent according to' their origin. For instance, Chinese feathers are of another characterthan Hungarianvones, and e these'again 'differ from Russian feathers.

In existing machines, a large v amount of handling was performed, the several aux;A

according to my rinvention is illustrated byl wayv of example: l Y p.

1 is a partly sectional elevation,-` -F ig. I2 is a plan view of the machine, Fig. 3 is an elevation,

Fig. 4 is an axial section of a cam form-` l side of the units on the shafts of the worms 5 ing part ofthe control ofthe machine, Y

Fig-5` is a section showingva modified feeding mechanism,

Figs.V 6 and 7 are sections on the lines Vfvand `VII-'VII in. Fig. 5, respectively, p r ,A Fig. 8 is a section showing another modified feeding mechanism, Fig.v 9 is a detail. .y Referring now to the drawings, andfirs-t to Figs. 1 to 4,v ai, b, c, d, and care units .of the machine, 1 is a. supply hopper arranged f above the units, 2 is a screen or partition surrounding a space 3,k 4 is apa-Ssage open'- ingfrom said space into the first unit a,

.5 is a compressedairV pipe discharging feathers into the'hopper 1, 6- is astirring arm in the space 3 which is rotatedA con-V tinuously bya shaft 46 toL which motion is imparted by means Vthat willlbe described@ its object being Ato clear theopening ofthe pas-sage y4 and to prevent clogging thereof, 7 is another ystirrer at the lower Aend ofthe passage 4 where it opens into the unit a', E is a table at the end of the passage 4 and 4fk is an opening adapted to be closed by which the table fis connected with the passage 4.

.A slide 4 may be usedt for closing the open ing 4. The table E serves for inserting feathers by hand, if required'. f

`As mentioned, any number of units a, b, etc., may be provided. Sis a fan at the-rear end of the machine, and 9 ,and 10 are suction 'pipes extending from the fan to the unit -e andV to a pipe 11 which extends above the units c, and YZ, and is connected with each by openings 27 and' flaps 29, If desired, the

' pipe 11 might be connected withl all of the units Z),v c, d, byV opening all the `{ia-ps 29 at the same time, as illustrated. Y v

12 are vertical adjustable partitions inthe units Z), c, and CZ by which the upta-kes V13 in units may be lextended `or', reduced, 14 areV cey rollers at the lower ends ofthe partitions l 12, 15 are rails on which the rollers are supported, 16, 16 are threaded spindles secured f to the partitionsnear theiry upper andlower` ends,- 17 are vthrea'dedworm gears on the spindles, 18A -areiworms meshing with the gears 17, and 19-are handwheels on the out`A the passages at an angle inV order to vary the area of the passage just above the spiders.'v

It may be desirable toarrange the walls of velocit7 of the flow, for instance, to increase the velocity fromthe top to ,the Vbottom of the passage, if the velocity is too small at 'the topon account ofthe weight of' the feathers.

rIhis might be effected by pivote ally connecting the partitions 12 to their spindles (saylby transverse pins 16 on the spindles fitting pivotally into brackets 12 of said partitions) and moving the spindlesV at the top and at the bottom through diiferent distances. A

20 areiixed partitions intermediate the units 5,0, and d, 21 are holesin the partitions, 22 are slides for opening andr closing the holes, 23 are racks on the slides, 24 are pinions meshing with the racks, and 25 are hand wheels for turning the pinions. 26 are openings at the top of each partition 2O oo nnecting the uptahes 13 of the several units with thedownwardpassages of the respective adjoining units, 27 are openings vconnecting said uptakes with the pipe 11, and 28, 29 are flaps for opening and closing the openings 26 and 27, respectively. Other devicesthan the flapsl28, 29 might be provided for controlling the said openings. 30 are screens preventing feathers from getting into the pipe 11. 31 and 32 are dampers for closing the pipes 1()` and 9 respectively, and 33 is a flap for regulating the iiow in the pipe 9. o Q

35 are a set of collecting chambers at the rear end of the machine, one for each unit, 36 are pipes connecting the units I), c, (Z, and c with the chambers, and 37 is a pipe connecting the last 4chamber with the unit c, the pipe 37 being arranged on the opposite side of the machine for convenience. 33 are doors effecting airtight closure of the chambers, 391s a fan for generating a vacuum inthe chambers, and 345, are sacks adapted to be secured to the ends of the pipes 36, 37 in each chamber.

35 so that the severalclasses of feathers are each draw-n intof'a separate saclc-y rihe operationof the machine is as follows: The' mixture of feathers from the hopper 1 gets first into the unit a through the passage In this'unit the flow generated by the fan 8 entrains allfeathers except vthe lso-calledlong feathers w hich are left inthe unit a.

u a n o u lhe residual mixture 1s drawn into the unit b wherewthe so-called heavy bed-feathers lare` separated, then into the unit c where the .best downs are separated.

lighter bed-feathers are left, then into the unit cl in which the smallest feathers mixed with larger downs, so-called semi-downs, are separated, and in the unit e the very fine and described is consequently adapted for the separation of live classes of feathers. If a mixture contains fewer, for instance, four classes, one of the slides 22 is opened to shortcircuit twoV adjacent units.l

The machine as The shortv circuited units make up a single unit and the same class or mixture of feathersnis collected in them. For instance, if it is desired to separate only the long feathers and the heavy bed feathers but leave in the mixture the light bedfeathe'rs, the finest feathers, and all downs the units c, al, Vand e are short-circuited and I obtain in the unitA a thelong feathers, in the unit b the heavy bed feathers, and in the other units a mixture of light bed feathers, finest feathers, and downs.

If it is found that in a given'mixture the several classes of feathers are not properly separated, or are not separated in the proper chambers, the flow of air is varied by displacing the partitions l2. lBy. reducing the passages 13 the velocity of the vflow inthe unit concerned is increased and heavier feathers are entrained into the following unit.: Another `means for regulating the velocity is constituted by the flaps 29 through which a certain percentage of the air is byepassed into the pipe 11. by-passed unit, and vreduced in that Yunit and in all following units. i

The flow is normal as far as the- The automatic means for regulatingthe shaft 46 of the stirrer 6 is slowly.' rotated, the

speed vbeing about '1 vto 3 revolutions Vper minute. 47 is a change-speed gear and 48 Y is a worm gear by which the shaft 46 rotates the cams41, 42; rlhe cams Vare rotated continuously during one classing `operation which takes about 25minutes. By their cam faces 55, 56 they control horizontal levers 49 l which rock abouta pin 50. The cam41 controls only the stirrers 7 .l V51 is a pulley the shaft of which is connected' with. the worm gear 45, 52 is a fast-and-.loose' pulley on theV shaft of the stirrer 7 ,53 is a rod Connected with the lever 49, and 54 is a bell-crank lever by which the belt is shifted when the lever 49 is rocked As Will appear from F ig. 3, the cam 41 is equipped withseveral short cam faces 55 and' a longer cam face 56. The cam faces 55 serve for operating'the stirrers 7 ,17 periodicallyl so that the machine hastime for digesting the feathers, the long cam face 56 serves for the first charging of the machine, and the long depression between the ceases, closes the dampers 28 and also a damper 57 which sep'aratesthe iirst unit a from the other units.

afterwards, the fanBQ-is thrown in and the slides 5S of the suction pipes 36, 37 are opened. All connections between the fan 8 and the machine are now interrupted, all units are separated from the adjacent units and each unit lis only connected with one ofthe sack chambers so that the feathers from each unit get into a definite sack chamber.

A system of links and levers 59 serves for operating the slides 58. A connection 60 is* inade from this systemto the flaps 3l, 32.

' The dampers 28 and 57 are operated by a systein6l. y i

Referring now to Figs. 5, 6, and 7, the stirrer 6 is replaced by a pairV of helical conveyers 62, 62 which removeI the feathers from the hopper l. 63 are vertical passages conducting the feathers partly to the passage 4 and partly to a third helical conveyer 64 which conveys the feathers from the passage 63 at the right to the passage 4. Any number of conveyers may be provided instead of three. V

Referring now to 8, l is a long hopper and the conveyers 62, 62 are combined into a single unit 62', 63a is a passage about at-the centre of the conveyer, and 635 is a passage at its end, the passage 63a delivering to the end of a conveyer 64 land-the passage 635 being directly connected with the passage 4. l It is understood that other means may be provided for conveying feathers from the hopper l to the passage 4.

I claim: n

l. A classifying machine comprising a plurality of classifying' units connected in tandem to form a continuous passage forca current of air and for the material to be classified, a suction device connected to the.

last of said units to produce such current, an auxiliary suction conduit leading tosaid device from points adjacent to the other units,Y

and individual means controlling theconnecvtion of each of said other units with said auxiliary suction conduit. Y

2. A classifying machine comprising a `plurality of classifying units connected in tandem to form a continuous passage for a current of air and for the material to be classified, a suction device connected to the last of said units to produce such current, an auxiliary suction conduit leading tosaid de vice from points adjacentto the other units,

individual means controlling the connection of each of said other units with said auxiliary suction conduit, and regulating devices ad- At the same time withl the closing of the damper 57, or immediately j ustablewithin individual units and arranged to'y vary the cross sectional area of the passage within such units and thereby the velocity of I the air current therein.

3. A classifying machine comprising a pluralityof classifying units each formed Y one unit being connected. with the opposite end of the passage in the next unit,5to estabdem, a continuous path which includes the entire length of each of said passages, and movableineans for establishing `or cutting oit at will, an additional connection between ad jacent units at points between the ends of the passages of said units, thereby short-circuit-` ing a portion of said passages.

4. A classifying Amachine comprising a plurality of classifying units each having an intake leg and an outlet leg, the outlet legof one unit being connected with the inlet leg of the next unit to establish a tandem connection between the several units, and movable means for establishing or cutting oii at will, an additional connection between adjacent units at such a point that material may pass directly from the intake leg of one unit to the intake leg of the next without passing through the outlet leg of the first-mentioned unit.

5. AV classifying machine comprising a nected with said sack chambers to draw material into them from said units. Y

6. A classifying machine comprising a rplurality of classifying units connected inl tandem to form a continuouspassage for a current of air and for the material to be classified, asuction device connected to the last of said units to produce such current, aV separate sack chamber connected with-eachtoY *plurality of classifying units connected in l of said units, and suction connections associated with said sack chambers in such a inanner as to draw material into saidchambers from the respective units. In testimony whereof, I have signed .my name to vthis specification, this 3rd day of February, 1928.

' HERMANN BAUER.

75 i Y lish within the units thus connected in tanj 

